The book is a history book about the geo-political influences on the Finnish-American immigrant community 1910-1950. Radicalized Finnish-Americans were misled to move to Soviet Karelia, where they were convinced they would find ideal living conditions.
The Soviet attack on Finland in 1939 split the Finnish-American community in two. The conflict is better known as the "Winter War." Finnish-Americans traveled to fight in the war for Finland, and there were other Finnish-Americans who were drafted into the Soviet Army. The Finnish-Americans in the US were sharply split into those who condemned the Soviet attack and into those that supported it.
Children of those Finnish-Americans who had emigrated to Soviet Karelia had often been born and raised in the US. As US citizens by birth, they were prime people to be sent back to the US as spies. The success rate is hard to determine, because we only know of those who were caught.
The Soviets had a taste of their own medicine when a Finnish-American became CIA chief in Helsinki. He facilitated the defection of a high ranking Soviet KGB agent, which shook up things in Moscow, Helsinki and Washington DC.
The book is a history book about the geo-political influences on the Finnish-American immigrant community 1910-1950. Radicalized Finnish-Americans were misled to move to Soviet Karelia, where they were convinced they would find ideal living conditions.
The Soviet attack on Finland in 1939 split the Finnish-American community in two. The conflict is better known as the "Winter War." Finnish-Americans traveled to fight in the war for Finland, and there were other Finnish-Americans who were drafted into the Soviet Army. The Finnish-Americans in the US were sharply split into those who condemned the Soviet attack and into those that supported it.
Children of those Finnish-Americans who had emigrated to Soviet Karelia had often been born and raised in the US. As US citizens by birth, they were prime people to be sent back to the US as spies. The success rate is hard to determine, because we only know of those who were caught.
The Soviets had a taste of their own medicine when a Finnish-American became CIA chief in Helsinki. He facilitated the defection of a high ranking Soviet KGB agent, which shook up things in Moscow, Helsinki and Washington DC.
